[mckinetic]

I have been on this site for a while, and am AMAZED at the amount of money, time, energy, and enthusiasm,
which is directed towards the pursuit of audiotechnicalwhizbangery. One high end very industrial looking super
turntable goes for 8000 and up, two relatively small speakers encased in heirloom quality wood made by
by one man in one shop in one city in Stockholm will sell for 15,000 per pair, not to mention special cables, best amplifier,
10,000 DAC, etc. My question is, what kind of lives do those
who have these high dollar set ups enjoy? I look at some of the pics and know I will never see as much money in
retirement as it took to just buy the items pictured, not to mention the houses they must live in.
Are these giving, loving, happy people I wonder, are they
stalwart members of their community first in all charitable events, etc? I hope so. Money they say doesn't buy happiness,
though it appear renting is a real possibility. This topic is on my mind, one because it is, and two, because I was
just reading of Warren Buffet's desire to convince the world's most rich to give away at least 98% of their wealth.
What say you Head-fi-ers?

 

[Bennyboy71]

We look like George Clooney and Brad Pitt and have a thing for casinos.

 

[mckinetic]

I look like Steve Jobs, love APPL and eat canned tuna.

 

[Grimloki]

I assume by amazed you mean shocked...
 
I'll put it this way. Now that people, rich or poor (but not in poverty) live similar lifestyles... and by that I mean, everyone is fed, clothed, air conditioned, with the same crap on tv to enjoy (or not enjoy), etc... then that really does free people up to spend as they are so inclined on hobbies and the like... and no one spends 8k on a handmade anything unless they have a passion for it.
 
Head-fi folks have one thing in common, audio priorities. Thats the only generalization you'll likely find fits here.
 
That and we are all male. This is the internet and there are no girls on the internet. Those who say they are girls are just pretending to be girls to get free stuff. But thats because of the internet and not because of head-fi.

 

[dweaver]

LOL you posted this in the IEM section. Most of us here are using portable rigs with IEM's or portable headphones on the go. Some of us own alot of gear but most of us have bought and sold alot of gear. Since my obsession started I have spent about $1000 in total but have recycled that money many times over. Now in the more expensive head-fi sections there is alot more money spent. How people can afford it is beyond me but I won't assume that because someone is spending alot of money hi-fi that they don't do anything else with their money or time.

 

[Happy Camper]

Judgment shows bad character.

 

[plainsong]

And if you wanna be like Warren Buffet, start by picking up an ukulele. He plays all the brands from cheap to expensive. It's hard to judge others when you're strumming a uke yourself.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Are you implying that owning something nice makes you a bad person?
 
Also, can you tell us at what dollar amount something turns into bad taste or corrupts the soul?

 

[slaters70]

Isn't this for another forum, like members' lounge? 

 

[semisight]

If you've looked around at least in this sub forum, you'll see a lot of the threads fall into three categories: the "sensibles," which top off at about $100, the high end universal threads, which max out at maybe $400, and the few threads devoted to the JH13/16 ($1100-$1200), which are apparently the only custom in ears worth anybodies' money around here (just kidding around with that last part, but seriously, there's a real lack of diversity here).
 
I don't know how people spend $10K on audio. Would you fault someone relatively well off for buying a $10K audio set up and buying $10K less of a new car. Probably not. Personally I wouldn't bat an eye at the difference between say a Genesis Coupe and an Infiniti (but then I live in Southern California).
 
I don't think you're seeing the full picture; it's easy to judge when you don't meet these people in their daily lives and see them doing human things other than audio.

 

[rawrster]

I think you are generalizing a lot there. Not all of us are rich and have very high incomes. There are people that fit that category no doubt but not every single of us. However all of us or rather most of us do share a passion for music and how to get your music to sound the best through various gear. If someone is well off why shouldn't they be able to spend their money on a hobby such as this.
 
I see this more of a I'm jealous of other people thread that pops up every so often but usually in the member's lounge. Why not be happy within your own means and stop looking at what other people have.

 

[shane55]

My wife tells her friends (when they go slack-jawed over the equipment and obsession) that she's glad it's audio and not women.
 
But I think in many of our cases it's that we make choices. I am far from wealthy, but I squirrel away enough money to be able to afford myself modest luxuries. I spend it here as opposed to cars, women, gambling, etc. Someone mentioned priority. Yes, this is a priority over many other trivialities upon which I can spend my hard-earned saved money.
 
shane
 
Oh, and as for making myself feel only slightly better by donating to charities... yeah I do that too, but I'm no Warren Buffet.

 

[Napilopez]

Like some have mentioned, not all of us spend ridiculous amounts of money on Audio Gear. Of all the hardware forums on this site, this is probably the one where the least spending goes on.
 
Anyways, I think almost all of us have our own vices and whatnot. Why do we buy  food so often when we could survive perfectly fine on less meals? Why buy that snickers bar or bag of chips when I'm not starving? Or why should I have more than a couple of clothing items? I think everyone has a right to pleasure themselves, and while I certainly do think there are more important uses for the money out there, I think it's important for people to please themselves once in a while too. Another thing is that many of the people who buy expensive gear also sell a lot of expensive gear.
 
Some people spend a lot of money buying clothes, or a brand new TV, or that fancy toaster. We spend it on audio gear; it's not so different. I for one am a poor college student and have only bought 3 headphones for myself since joining the site, but would I buy more if I could? Probably; but that doesn't stop me from wanting to help out others in other ways. Audio is an escape for me, and sometimes helps me keep my sanity and love for the world instead of looking of it in disdain. Tis only my wish to replicate that audio as accurately or enjoyably as possible; I think that's why we're all here.

 

[mckinetic]

OK first and foremost, I'm not evening beginning to try to think about saying a person is a bad one simply because they buy nice things.
No! Not saying that at all. This is not a moral question, this was a simple query. Not jealous, more like incredulous, truly. I apologize for
perhaps being too vague. Incredulous. Every drive down the road in a fairly nice part of town and look at the big houses and wonder what that must be like? Who lives there, whether they are still aware of what they have? That's all. Not trying to point fingers, blame or what not. The line about, "charity, etc, etc" was related to the Warren Buffet story, not whether the person is bad or good. I guess I said that because my I've often thought my first joy (after buying  a 30 G audio setup and a house big enough to put it in) after winning 370 million in a lottery would be to help some folks, random people, homeless people, whatever, and it's my perception (seems how far away I'am from the level of wealth required to spend some of these incredible amounts) that those who can afford a 15 G set of furniture grade speakers probably are able to much more than I. And it is a common idea that many who can don't for whatever reason. I'm a poet, and much of my better work has to do with this perception of the homeless man on the corner as he watches BMW's, Merc's, Pontiacs, etc, file past most of which are filled with averted eyes and hard faces. I wonder what would it take to move a homeless man from the corner to a different life? 6000 ? 5? 1? 500? One traffic light, thirty seven cars on a San Diego st, all get out and hand them a $ 50...??? So not a moralist pointing fingers again my apologies.  

 

[plainsong]

Woah. I wanna smoke what you're smoking! 
 
Nah, I'm not trollin', it was just a tough read what with the trains of thought changing track mid-sentence, and what long sentences they were! It is a very difficult read!
 
This is better suited to the Member's Lounge, but I think what you're wondering aloud is if you or I or that random stranger with all the nice stuff will ever be happy. "If I get X, I'll be happy!" then "If I get Y, and Z, my life is complete!" Does it ever end? 
 
I could be cynical and say no, but I don't think it's true for all of us. In terms of audio I've been happy for some years with my setup. Sure I wonder about this or that headphone, or switching to a computer-based setup, but to change one thing is to upset the delicate balance. It can happily wait.
 
If someone participates in consumerism as a sport, then probably they're not happy. I mean perhaps they are, but you always have to get the Next Big Thing, so probably not. And look at the damage they do to themselves in the process. Like that new subdivision near where I'm from. We call it Foreclosure Acres. Huge boxes built barely to code on tiny lots where people cram their SUVs, sports cars and boats. Then if you ask them what they do for a living, it'll be "Oh I'm a teacher and my husband is a security guard." Yeah, um no.
 
But that's different than saving up for a few of the gooder things in life that you enjoy. I don't see a problem with that. I also don't see a problem with trying to make your little patch of the world a better place, be that charity and/or helping out. Like buying an extra bag of dog food on your grocery shopping run and dropping it off at the SPCA. 
 
The fact is, unless it's clearly Foreclosure Acres (and even then), it's tough to judge books by their covers. It also makes your life that much more stressful, dispensing all that judgement. If someone has a problem, then it is there own and not yours.
 
Of course, that doesn't make for good poetry.